School · 20 thinkers
Hellenistic, Roman & Late Antique
20 thinkers of Hellenistic, Roman & Late Antique on the Agora star map, from Pyrrho of Elis to John Philoponus, in chronological order.
- c. 360–270 BCEPyrrho of Elis
Since we cannot be certain of anything, we should suspend judgment – and that very restraint brings peace of mind.
- 341–270 BCEEpicurus
Happiness is freedom from pain and fear; death is nothing to fear, since we will not be there to experience it.
- c. 334–262 BCEZeno of Citium
Live in harmony with nature and reason, accept what you cannot change, and virtue alone will make you happy.
- c. 316–241 BCEArcesilaus
For every argument there is an equally strong one against it, so we should suspend judgement on everything – and we can still act on what seems reasonable.
- c. 279–206 BCEChrysippus
Everything happens by fate, through an unbroken chain of causes – yet not of necessity, and our assent is still our own, so we are responsible. He also gave Stoic propositional logic its classic, systematic form.
- c. 214–129 BCECarneades
We can never be certain that an impression is true, but we can test how convincing it is – and that is enough to live and act by.
- 106–43 BCECicero
There is a natural law above all human laws, and a good person serves the community by fulfilling their duties with humanity.
- c. 99–55 BCELucretius
The world is made only of atoms and empty space, so there is no reason to fear gods or death.
- c. 20 BCE – 50 CEPhilo of Alexandria
The Bible and Greek philosophy teach the same truth if you read the Bible symbolically – and the divine Word links God to the world.
- c. 4 BCE – 65 CESeneca
Life is long enough if you use it well; what matters is to keep calm and act rightly whatever fortune brings.
- c. 50–135Epictetus
Some things are in our power, like our judgments and wishes, and some are not – focus only on the first, and you will be free.
- 121–180Marcus Aurelius
Examine yourself every day, do your duty without complaint, and remember that you belong to one community of all rational beings.
- c. 160–210Sextus Empiricus
For every argument there is an equally strong counter-argument, so the wise response is to suspend judgment and stay calm.
- c. 185–253Origen
Scripture has layers of meaning beneath the literal one, souls existed before birth, and he hoped that in the end all of them would return to God.
- 204–270Plotinus
All reality flows out of a single perfect source, the One, and the goal of the soul is to return to it in inner union.
- c. 234–305Porphyry
Before you can reason well you need clear concepts – genus, species, difference, property, accident; whether genera and species exist outside the mind is a deeper question he deliberately left open.
- 354–430Augustine
For Augustine, truth is found by turning inward, where God is present; we cannot be good by our own will alone but need grace.
- c. 355–415Hypatia
Her writings are lost, but she taught that mathematics and astronomy are a path toward the philosophy of Plato and Plotinus.
- 412–485Proclus
Reality is an ordered ladder of levels descending from the One, and God himself can only be described by saying what he is not.
- c. 490–570John Philoponus
The world cannot be eternal, because an infinite past could never have been completed; and a thrown stone flies on because it carries a force given to it, not because the air pushes it.